I would love it if the practice of corporate welfare were stopped, but realistically NS has to play the game if it wants to compete. BC was also willing to put up money and has funded industrial development in the past. Historically many key industries in Ontario and Quebec have been propped up by the government in some way -- railways, auto industry, textiles, cheese making, shipping, you name it. The Irving money is probably one of the better investments of that type that the provincial government has made, so it's hard to get too upset about it.

Most of the time I think the tax debates are beside the point. There is a minor difference between whether the 2% comes from HST or income tax, and I would argue that there are many viable ways to structure a taxation system and economy. Some countries are successful with very high tax levels and others are successful with lower taxes. What really matters is the value for dollar, and that plummets when governments overspend on pork barrel projects.

We're arguing about 2 percentage points of HST while quietly paying the 10% pork barrel tax and the 15% rural life support tax.